MINNEAPOLIS- Wow, what a game this turned out to be and that doesn't mean the game was close with King James dominating play with his presence in the paint or him showing off his range but in fact it was the complete opposite. From the get go the Young Timberwolves team took advantage on the lacklustre effort from the Cavs to take a demanding lead behind the play of forward Andrew Wiggins and guard Jimmy Butler. Butler who finished the game with a near triple double with 21 points 9 assists and 8 rebounds showed poise and efficiency as he took 7 win against James in the last 7 meetings.
On the other side of the ball LeBron James showed little presence on the floor similarly to his fellow starters as he lead the starting unit with only 10 points in the affair. The Cavaliers loss shows that the Cavs still aren't quite in championship form as they try to integrate point guard Isaiah Thomas into the starting line-up who has recently returned from injury. Thomas's rust was prevalent as he struggled to get things going in the game posting only 9 points on 27.3% from the field, that was before he administered a brutal blow to Timberwolves forward Andrew Wiggins with 6:47 to play in the third quarter.
After the play Thomas appeared apologetic to Wiggins as the point guard approached the forward however Thomas was ejected with a flagrant 2 foul due to the play. Thomas after the game stated that "I've gotten numerous steals like that, going out like that," Thomas said afterward. "It just happened I hit him in the throat. I apologized right away because I didn't mean to do that. I'm just glad he's all right."
Timberwolves: 127 Cavaliers: 99
The Box scores are posted below:
Cavaliers:
Timberwolves: